Binance France to close accounts Dec. 31, with fees from Nov. 29

Binance has emailed customers of its French arm to say their accounts will close from 31 December 2026, according to the text published by the French outlet Cryptoast on 6 November.Cryptoast, Binance annonce la clôture des comptes de ses utilisateurs français au 31 décembre. The email says deposits are no longer possible. From 29 November, it says, accounts that still hold crypto will pay a monthly fee of 0.025% of the balance or 10 USDC, whichever is higher. A first charge is due within three days of that date and a second is expected after 24 December.

Binance has confirmed the closing date. “Affected accounts will be closed with effect from 31 December 2026,” a spokesperson told CoinDesk, describing the process as “no sudden freeze”.CoinDesk, Binance users in some European countries told to pull crypto before fees kick in, 7 November 2026. CoinDesk reported that customers can still withdraw.

The idea of a cut-off did not start with Binance. In June the EU’s securities markets authority, ESMA, said that firms without a licence should give customers “a deadline by which any residual positions would be closed automatically”.ESMA, public statement on the end of the MiCA transitional period, 23 June 2026.

What the fee means for a small account

On the terms in the email, 0.025% only exceeds 10 USDC on a balance above 40,000 USDC, so smaller accounts would pay the flat minimum.S-Curve analysis of ESMA’s register of authorised crypto providers and of the fee terms in the customer email. Two charges make 20 USDC. That is 20% of an account holding 100 USDC and 2% of one holding 1,000.

The email says that if the balance is smaller than the fee, the whole balance is taken. It also says accounts emptied before 29 November are charged nothing.

Crypto still in an account on 31 December will lead Binance to treat the account as inactive under its terms of use, the email says, which may mean converting or transferring the assets. The terms of use on Binance’s main site, effective 27 October, include a clause under which it may “charge a dormant account fee which may be to cover the cost of maintaining the Digital Assets”.Binance, Terms of Use, effective 27 October 2026. It is unclear whether the terms for Binance France accounts read the same.

Why there is a deadline at all

The EU’s crypto rulebook, known as MiCA, “requires mandatory authorisation in order to offer crypto-asset services in European Union countries”, in the words of the AMF, France’s markets regulator.AMF, news release of 6 July 2026 on the end of the MiCA transitional period. Firms already operating under national rules could “continue to do so until 1 July 2026 or until they are granted or refused an authorisation”.ESMA, Statement on MiCA transitional measures, 17 December 2024.

No Binance entity appears on ESMA’s register of authorised providers, which listed 394 entities when it was last updated on 30 September.

Binance said on 24 June that it was withdrawing its licence application in Greece and would seek authorisation in another member state.Binance, Important Update for Our European Users, 24 June 2026. It said it had worked with the Greek regulator for many months and had “no formal decision as the MiCA transition period comes to an end”. “We were deemed to have a complete application,” Gillian Lynch, its head of Europe, told CoinDesk in early July.CoinDesk, report of 18 September 2026 on Binance’s Greek licence application. The company said it was “confident we will secure authorization in another EU Member State in the coming months”.

The day before that announcement, ESMA had set out what it expected of any firm that missed the deadline. It named no provider, but said that some, “including significant providers currently servicing EU clients under national regimes, may not be authorised by the deadline”. Such firms should “immediately stop onboarding new EU clients” and “limit the provision of services to actions necessary to sell or transfer crypto-assets, reallocate assets, or close positions”. Holding customers’ coins could continue only “for the period strictly necessary to complete an orderly exit”. Messages to customers “should include a deadline by which any residual positions would be closed automatically”.

The email to Binance France customers sets such a deadline, with its closing date and its warning about what follows for accounts that still hold crypto.

France’s regulator took the same line. The AMF said in February that customers of a firm that is winding down must get their crypto back, by transfer to an authorised provider or by sale, with sufficient notice.AMF, notice of 5 February 2026 on the end of the transitional period for crypto providers in France. In July it said it would “scrutinise the implementation of the orderly winding-down plans” of firms without a licence, “with one absolute priority: preserving clients’ interests”.

This month a Binance spokesperson told CoinDesk that the company is “progressively restricting certain services for affected users”. “Our commitment to Europe remains unchanged, and we are actively progressing our authorization pathway,” the spokesperson said.

Who is affected

CoinDesk reported that users in Spain, Italy and Poland say they have received emails about the closure too. Those, with France, are the countries where Binance “ran locally registered businesses” before the transition ended, according to CoinDesk. The AMF’s list shows Binance France’s registration, held since May 2022, as having lapsed automatically on 2 July, CoinDesk reported.

The most recent figure for the money involved is old. Binance France held about 1 billion euros for customers at the end of 2022, according to Cryptoast’s report on its audited accounts.Cryptoast, Binance France présente ses premiers états financiers audités.

ESMA’s general advice to customers of any unlicensed firm is to check its register and act promptly. Such customers “do not benefit from MiCA safeguards, including protections for client assets”. It suggests “transferring their crypto-assets to an authorised CASP”, meaning a licensed crypto-asset service provider, “or to a self-hosted wallet”.

Binance has not named the member state where it is seeking a licence. “When we are ready to announce that Member State, we will do so publicly,” it said in June.